Prophet of ConFree (The Prophet of ConFree)
Page 11
"Promise you won’t tell." I took a sip of dox. Excellent! "It was Scout. He's just amazing. He's got a private bag of tricks you wouldn't believe."
"Do we have to give this back?"
"Sure do – upon completion of the mission." Eyemotes were pretty spectacular little devices built for recon or espionage. An eyemote was the size of a mote of dust, invisible to the eye, but it could follow any designated target all day and night, relay both audio and vid, and allow you to shadow somebody without ever exposing your interest. Just what we needed.
"It's almost 1500."
"Well, keep looking. They're supposed to meet at 1500, right there, that's what we heard."
"And then we see where they go."
"They'll walk, it's a small town and no aircars allowed downtown. They'll walk. All we need is for them to pause somewhere."
"Then we attack."
"Correct. You ready?"
"Bet your ass!"
Δ
The eyemote worked perfectly. We tracked the targets to an upscale shopping mall, then waited patiently until they finally stopped moving. They sat at an outdoor refreshments table and ordered drinks and snacks. Just the two of them, A and B. Perfect! By then we were just around the corner.
"Ready?"
"Go!" We put on our official Legion sunglasses, adjusted our field caps and proceeded to the target.
We stopped directly in front of their table and snapped to attention. Both girls gaped up in surprise.
"Miss Sheila Dantos?" I asked.
"Miss Katrina Weyvoulias?" Arie asked.
They both stared wide-eyed, mouths open. Finally Honeyhair spoke. "Uh, yes! What is it?" She was clearly alarmed by the black uniforms and our serious demeanors.
"Special delivery for Miss Sheila Dantos," I said, handing Honeyhair a thick envelope engraved with a Legion cross and bearing her name.
"Special delivery for Miss Katrina Weyvoulias," Arie said, handing Blondie an identical envelope with her name.
We stood there like statues as they carefully opened the envelopes, stealing frightened glances toward us as they did so. I knew there was no way they were going to recognize us. We had been two pasty-faced kids on the Bold Lady and now we were both deeply tanned from months in the field, all pumped up, clad in those sinister black uniforms and hiding behind sunglasses as well. The enclosed invitation for Honeyhair began:
From time to time they looked up at us, still open-mouthed. Then a slow smile crept over Blondie's lips. She punched Honeyhair on the arm.
"Those are the two kids who hit on us in the Bold Lady," she said. "Remember? We were going swimming?"
Honeyhair slowly recovered, looking us over carefully, obviously stunned. "Wow," she said, feebly.
"Isn’t that right?" Blondie asked us.
"That's right, Ma'am," I said, continuing to stand at attention. "The pool was off limits for us. We regret not being able to accommodate you at that time."
"We need an official response to these invitations, Ma'am," Arie said.
"We'll both be graduating from the Course and would be honored to invite you both, Ma'am," I said. "It's tomorrow, 1800 hours. We have arranged transportation for you both."
"You ignored us," Honeyhair said. "We invited you to the pool and you just never showed up."
"We were children, Ma'am," I replied. "But we're men now. We wish to apologize for our past uncivilized behavior and show you how serious we are. We have dinner reservations at the Top of the Town for 1800 tonight and in the meantime, we can enjoy the view up there and we can explain to you the gravity of the situation."
"Gravity of the situation? What do you mean?" Blondie seemed puzzled.
"We're both in love with you, Ma'am," Arie said. "That is, I am in love with you, Miss Weyvoulias, and my friend is in love with Miss Dantos."
Blondie started laughing, and could not stop. "Will you...please take off those stupid sunglasses?" she choked.
"Yes Ma'am," we said simultaneously, and snapped off the glasses.
Honeyhair was about to say something – probably a devastating put-down – when Blondie smacked her again on the arm. "Shut down, Sheila," she said. "No wiseass comments. These two have outsmarted us big-time. Boys, we'll be happy to accompany you to the Top of the Town tonight, and to the graduation tomorrow. We haven't had anybody in love with us since…"
"Yesterday," Honeyhair added quickly.
Δ
The Top of the Town was a fancy revolving restaurant perched atop Black Mountain Tower, a massive tall interstellar commo tower located on high ground halfway between Providence Town and the starport. By 1900 hours, the sun was heading for the horizon and the latest rainstorm had passed. It looked like it was going to be a clear night. The view was spectacular. We could see all of Providence, the nicely-designed town center with the parks-and-ring pedestrian roads, and all the public buildings with the nearby commercial section full of restaurants and shops, and more public gardens and parks. A huge lake sprawled along one side of town. The road leading to the Base was dotted with aircar guidance posts and the Base itself was visible on the horizon. On the other side of town more roads led to the starport, which was clearly visible. We were in the lounge, enjoying the sunset before starting dinner.
"You scared the hell out of me," Blondie admitted. "I thought we were going to be arrested, and I was reviewing our misdeeds and wondering what we had done that had gone so bad."
"You scared the hell out of me, too," Honeyhair said. "I thought something evil had happened to our parents, and you were there to tell us about it. You got us – I'll admit it."
"Sorry if we scared you," I said. "But we were worried that you might not even remember us, so we had to get your attention quickly."
"Well, you succeeded there," Honeyhair said, smiling faintly.
"To the future," I said, raising my glass. We clinked glasses and drank. We had ordered wine coolers.
"Before we talk about the future," Honeyhair said, "how about telling us your names?"
"Certainly," Arie said. "I'm Nitro, this is my friend Prophet. He's my sidekick."
"Well he's half right there," I said. "Actually I'm the main character and Nitro here is my sidekick."
"Nitro and Prophet? Blondie said. "What kind of names are those?"
"Those are Legion war names."
"War names? How did you get them? What do they mean?"
"Sorry, Ma'am, that's classified information. However, as Legion immortals, we are authorized to assign you war names as well, and we have done so."
"Immortals? You are?"
"Would you like to hear your war names?"
"Sure. I guess."
"Miss Dantos, your war name is Honeyhair. Miss Weyvoulias, your war name is Blondie."
"Blondie?" Blondie objected. "Couldn’t you do better than that?"
"Actually we had another name for you but we decided Blondie would be more suitable," Arie explained.
"What was the other name?"
"Lollypop. Would you prefer that?"
Blondie blushed scarlet, then replied "Uh, never mind, Blondie is fine." Honeyhair laughed out loud.
Δ
For dinner, we were seated at a table right next to the wide plex picture window, which afforded us a spectacular view of everything. It was night, the stars were out in all their glory and the city lights and the glow from the starport and the Base were stunning. The girls were well warmed up by then, relaxed and happy. I was completely relaxed for the first time since joining the Legion. I had not been this happy since grappling with Jailbait one rainy night in my dad's aircar.
"So are you both really immortal?" Blondie asked, wide-eyed. She had an innocent streak, which was often on display.
"Certainly are," I replied.
"You look a lot bigger now than before," Honeyhair said. "Both of you."
"Well, we are a lot bigger. Everywhere." I struck a strong-man pose with my arms.
"Everywhere?" Honeyhair asked.
"Moving right along," Blondie said, picking up a menu, "we'd better decide what we're going to eat."
The meal was spectacular, delicious prime ribs with all the trimmings accompanied by a ruby red wine. I was so happy that I was almost sad. I suddenly realized that this was all an illusion. We would see these lovely girls for only one more day and then we'd be off almost immediately for Advanced Combat Training on another world, and would surely never see either one of them again. It was a big galaxy and the Legion didn't shuttle people around to see their girl friends, that's for sure.
How many young soldiers, I wondered, had gone through these same agonies? How many young girls had said goodbye for the last time to lovers or potential lovers they would never see again? How many soldiers would spend years in lonely cosmic outposts dreaming about a couple of innocent days they had shared with a girl, many long years ago?
After dinner we retreated back to the lounge, and I found a quiet corner with Honeyhair. We sat together in a cozy little love seat. She was so close, so incredibly attractive. The candlelight from the walls highlighted her soft hair and glowed on her skin. She had light green eyes – focused on me.
I slowly raised a hand and held it out, open. She responded by gently joining her hand to mine, watching me closely. I brought it to my chest, looking into her eyes.
"We'll be leaving day after tomorrow," I said. "Forever. I'll never see you again after tomorrow."
"Why are you telling me that?" she asked.
"It's because I can hardly believe it. I've just met you. When I first saw you – on the Dark Lady – I fell for you, hard. I've thought about you every day for six months. Every day. And now I'm actually here – touching you. It's unbelievable. But it's going to end. I realize – only now – that I love you. I want to know all about you. But it cannot be. And I shouldn't be telling you this. But it's true."
"If you're really in love, you should be happy," she said, quietly. "Not sad."
"I am happy," I said. "And sad. Both." I reached out with my free hand and touched her cheek. She drew closer to me – looking into my eyes. We kissed. As gentle as a summer dream. A faint taste of cherries. My eyes were closed. I felt like I was floating away. I didn't want the kiss to end. Will I remember this kiss? For the rest of my life? Lost and lonely, under fire in some Gulf hellhole, preparing to die? My last thought? Can I really love her?
We came up for air.
"You're crying," she said, raising a hand to my eyes.
"No, I'm not," I said. "Sorry. Got something in my eye."
And suddenly she was crying too – a river of tears. She grasped me like a life preserver. That was unexpected – but I had no plans to let go. Damn it! Why did life have to be so – damned – complex?
"Why are you crying?" She sniffled in my ear.
"Because I can see the future," I whispered. "That's why they call me the Prophet."
Δ
Graduation was in Spring Hill Coliseum. The whole Training Group consisted of 2,000 men and women, and it was quite a spectacle when we marched in by squads, platoons and companies, clad in our formal blacks and took our places standing at attention facing the center stage. When they played the national anthem, the "Black March", we all saluted the flag, and I was brimming with pride in the Legion, in myself and everyone else. We stood there at attention as a series of speakers addressed us and the attendees in the stands. There were plenty of invited guests and they included Honeyhair and Blondie. Of course we could not see them, there was such a crowd, but we had arranged the transportation, and we knew they were there. The previous evening had been a big success for both myself and Arie. Honeyhair seemed quite taken with me, and Blondie seemed fascinated by Arie. I had made sure that we returned them both, undamaged and only mildly molested, to their parents and we even met the parents briefly at Honeyhair's residence.
Now it was getting late, 1830 hours, the sky was turning blacker than normal and we were being pelted by light rain. The movable roof over the Coliseum slid closed silently just in time to avoid the deluge, and bright lights up on the roof illuminated the entire field. A dull roar reverberated throughout the coliseum as the monsoon crashed onto the roof. The Director-General of ConFree was the keynote speaker, and she was about to speak. Word was that the Director addressed every graduating Legion class. It was quite an honor. Antara Tarantos-Hannah was one scary lady from all I had heard, brilliant, dedicated, fearless, dynamic and ruthless, and in addition to all that she was exceptionally beautiful. The word was she was half Outworlder, half Assidic, a former Legion general, all warrior, and was the most effective Director ConFree had ever had.
"Greetings!" she began. "Greetings and congratulations to the Class of 379! I salute you!" And she gave a formal salute, fist to chest. A great crack shot through the arena as we all instinctively returned her salute.
"At ease!" she commanded. We snapped into the at ease position, another great crack. She was slim and lovely, in Legion black, pale brown flesh, ruddy brown hair touching her shoulders.
"Volunteers! Troopers! The people of ConFree thank you for your sacrifices. And I thank you. Without you, ConFree does not exist. Without you, the Legion does not exist. You are the children of the Outvac, descended from all those holy warriors who first raised the black flag of liberation over a galaxy of hopeless slaves, and chased the System from the Outvac, forever. Because of you, ConFree will be strong and free, and your children will be strong and free.
"Every new graduating class of the ConFree Legion has gone on to war. Do not think you will be any different. You are going to war! You can count on it. And why is that? Are we aggressors? Are we building an empire? No! We have no territorial ambitions. We want to stay in the Outvac, and protect our own, and mind our own business. But we cannot do that. It's a nasty galaxy out there, and any sign of weakness on our part will invite attacks from every foul creature that is out there.
"We are not weak. We are strong! That's our message, and you are the bearers of that message. As long as ConFree remains strong, and vigorous, our society will survive, and prosper. Once we weaken, we will perish. That's the lesson of history. Many societies have ignored that lesson, and they are no longer with us.
"All our current active war zones are in the Gulf. That's where you will be going, once you are through with Advanced Combat Training. Read up on the Gulf. Chaos, dictatorship, oppression, torture, slavery, genocide, piracy, rape and murder. You'll find all that in the Gulf. We are not there to overthrow tyranny or liberate slaves. We are there to respond to threats to our interests and to make it clear to everyone that any threat to or action against ConFree nationals will be met with instant and overwhelming force.
"Piracy is a growing problem in the Gulf. You can all expect to pull piracy patrols in the Gulf. Our action against these vermin is unilateral and final. We don't discuss this problem with any of the Gulf regimes, and we don't negotiate with pirates. We kill them, and leave their ships running red with blood, and publicize each action throughout the galaxy. We chase them down and exterminate them, like rats, without mercy. If we don't take those actions in the Gulf, then they'll be showing up in the Outvac, looking for undefended worlds.
"Soldiers of the Legion! Our enemies are terrified of us, and that is as it should be. Never retreat! Never abandon a comrade! Never surrender! Always strive for victory! Never hesitate to strike boldly at our enemies. And always do the right thing! Sometimes you will be the one to decide what is right and what is wrong. Sometimes you may have to disobey orders, to do the right thing. Deadman knows I've done that more times than I will admit. Do not fear that moment! Do what you know to be right! Deadman will be watching over you! Fear nothing! You are the slave of the future, you are the light in the dark, you are the watch on the mark at the gateway to the stars – you are a soldier of the Legion! And don't ever forget, you are at the very bottom of the chain of command, and at the top of the chain of com
mand is the Supreme Commander. For those of you who don't know yet, the Supreme Commander is a wife and mother, and her children. And there are billions of them! We serve them all. Don't ever forget it – that's what it's all about. Women and kids!
"May Deadman bless you." And she made the sign of the Legion over us all, but just as she did so there was a tremendous peal of thunder outside and eerie blue lightning flashes briefly illuminated the coliseum and outlined the Director as well, making her look like some kind of terrifying sky goddess, wreathed in lightning. I guess Deadman was with us all right.
Δ
After the graduation ceremony was over, we marched off the field, broke ranks and took shelter in the covered halls of the coliseum. It was raining hard, a great roar, bringing a warm wave to my flesh. Arie and I were soon lost in the crowd of thousands of graduates and guests but Honeyhair and Blondie fought their way through the crowd to our sides.
"Who was that crazy woman up there?" Honeyhair asked me.
"Oh, that was the Director of ConFree. She's famous."
"Well, she'd better calm down or she's going to bust a blood vessel."
"Forget her. How are you doing?" I gently pulled her to me. The rain leaked down all around us. Arie was in a clinch with Blondie.
"I missed you," Honeyhair said, snuggling up to my chest.
"Likewise." We played kissy-face for awhile, ignoring the crowd all around us. She started crying again. I managed to avoid doing so this time, but I was overwhelmed with a deep sorrow.
"What will we do?" she sobbed.
"Well, I'll be thinking about you for the rest of my life, I guess. How about you?"
"Can't you come back and visit me some time?"
"Sorry. Can't be done."
"But I don't want you to go!" she wailed, hopelessly.
"Oh. Well in that case maybe I'll bring you to the Director of Veltros Training Command, and you can tell him you don't want me to go."
"Don't be cruel." The rain was pouring down, shooting off the covered hallway and splattering over anyone standing in the wrong place. I led Honeyhair into the shadows under a stairway, where we could stand in a puddle without getting drenched.